Thai leader accused of stacking Senate

Rungrawee C. Pinyorat, The Associated Press

Published 10:00 pm, Monday, April 17, 2006

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Many of the candidates running for Thailand's supposedly non-partisan Senate this week are the wives and allies of ruling-party politicians, opponents of outgoing Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra say.

They say this will help Thaksin continue controlling the government from behind the scenes by allowing his party to maintain its hold on the 200-seat upper house of Parliament. He stepped down earlier this month in the face of rising protests over allegations of corruption.

"Thaksin wants an absolute power sweep, therefore he needs to control the Senate," said Sen. Niran Pitakwachara, a Thaksin critic. He said about 150 candidates with close ties to the ruling Thai Rak Thai party are expected to win in Wednesday's vote -- roughly the makeup of the current Senate.

Thailand's 45 million eligible voters are choosing from among 1,477 candidates for six-year terms in the Senate.

Until the previous Senate election in 2000, Thailand's upper house of Parliament was appointed by the government. The creation of a directly elected Senate, a product of the 1997 reformist constitution, was seen as a way to ensure a better system of checks-and-balances in the government.

Senate candidates are required by the constitution to have severed links with political parties at least one year before running. But many say the first class of elected senators has failed to live up to the body's ideal of impartiality.

Outgoing Sen. Kraisak Choonhavan called the chamber a "collapse of democracy," saying his class included about three-dozen reform-minded senators who were hamstrung by the rest who followed the government line.

He estimated that at least half the candidates running in this year's elections are the wives of politicians and others were government allies or civil servants with close ties to Thaksin. Among those running are one of Thaksin's lawyers, Thana Benjathikul, and a former high-ranking Thai Rak Thai official, Thawee Kraikub.

The Election Commission was investigating allegations that some of the candidates were relatives or close allies of politicians, said the commission's secretary-general, Ekkachai Warunprapha.

Months of anti-government street protests and demands for Thaksin's resignation prompted the prime minister in February to dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call a snap election three years ahead of schedule.

The three main opposition parties boycotted the April 2 election, resulting in a sweep by the ruling party, which won 56 percent of the vote and at least 459 of 500 seats in the lower house, according to unofficial results. Re-elections for the remaining seats will be held Sunday.

Two days after the election, Thaksin surprised the country by announcing he would leave office to restore unity and quell ongoing protests against his rule.

But many believe Thaksin, who heads the ruling party, remains firmly in control.

While the Senate does not initiate legislation, it has the power to block proposed laws, a role that takes on greater importance given the ruling party's domination of the lower house.

The body is also empowered to remove corrupt officials and politicians, including the prime minister, and appoint members of independent bodies such as the elections and corruption commissions.